Using great outdoors as an inspiring canvas

Plein air artists meeting in groups to create, grow

There are many opportunities to join people painting outdoors in East County and other places around San Diego.

For the San Diego Plein Air Painters, which does most of its painting in East County, contact Rod Lingren at (619) 787-2412 or check the group's Web site at painter.meetup.com/86/

Another East County group that does outdoor painting is the East County Art Association. Its Web site is eastcountyartassociation.com

The San Diego Art Institute Paint Out meets in Balboa Park every third Saturday of the month from 9 a.m. to about noon. Call (619) 236.0011.

The Wednesday Morning Paint Out, sponsored by the San Diego Watercolor Society, has a Wednesday Morning Paint Out at various locations around the county. The Watercolor Society also sponsors a once-a-month Saturday paint out. Its Web site is SDWS.org.

“We all like to paint together,” said Rod Lingren, 56, of El Cajon, who organizes the group of Saturday morning painters. “There's something really helpful about seeing how other painters work that makes my own work better.”

The group started painting together a year ago after Lingren put an invitation up on a meet-up Web site. Lingren is a professional artist who wanted some company while he was painting outdoors. While the group calls itself the San Diego Plein Air painters, the members mostly paint in East County. En plein air is a French expression meaning “in the open air” and is used to describe painting outdoors.

Lingren's group is one of a number of outdoor painting groups in and around San Diego. The paint-outs, as they often are called, are sponsored by individual painters such as Lingren, schools and nonprofit arts associations, including the San Diego Art Institute, the San Diego Watercolor Society and the East County Art Association.

Carolyn Stephens, the editor of the East County Art Association newsletter, said some of her favorite East County spots for painting have been in a courtyard near the El Cajon Superior Courthouse, Flinn Springs and the backcountry. She likes to paint in watercolor and acrylic.

“It's a little warm sometimes . . . but East County has such a variety of plein air,” said Stephens, 72, of Spring Valley. “You can just go anywhere and find a subject that will be a lovely painting.”

Janet Finney, a Del Mar resident who has been painting for 20 years, often joins other watercolor painters as part of the San Diego Watercolor Society's Wednesday Morning Painters. The group goes to a variety of spots including Torrey Pines State Park, the Cabrillo National Monument and the San Diego Mission de Alcala.

“We're out with our friends in nice places and we chat about everything from art supplies to naughty grandchildren,” Finney said. “Sometimes eight people come and sometimes 15 – there are no fees and no teachers; we do it for inspiration and company.”

On one recent warm morning, Lingren's group, San Diego Plein Air Painters, headed to Lake Jennings County Park's Hermit Cove to capture the lake and lush trees in oil paint. Lake Jennings was quiet and nearly empty.

Five painters met Lingren on the shore of Hermit's Cove tucked into the northeast corner of the lake. They chatted for a few minutes, then carried their easels, chairs and paints to separate spots chosen for the shade and the view they wanted to take home.

Standing or sitting under shady trees in a slight breeze, the painters worked to capture the subtleties of the light and shadows, the whispering movements of the trees and the texture of reflections off the lake.

Working at the paint box that belonged to his father, Lingren mixed dabs of charcoal-colored oil paint into the greens that dominated his palette. He first painted the trees in shades of deep gray and then added the green foliage as layers over it.

“Nature is often quite gray,” Lingren said, using his brush to mix and remix blots of color. “The light changes so quickly that it's a challenge to capture the colors and shadows before they become something else.”

Perhaps it's his style and perhaps it's where he stood, but Ken Roberts, 52, of San Carlos painted a brighter picture. Roberts said he started coming to the meet-ups in February.

“I was looking for an outdoor group,” he said. “I needed to be around other people for new ideas. It helps not to fall into repeated patterns.”

Roberts, who lives near Lake Murray, has been painting for 20 years – often using Lake Murray as his subject, he said.

“It's better to paint at different places,” Roberts said.

The group has painted in Balboa Park, Cuyamaca Rancho State Park and the presidio. But members often come to different spots on the shores of Lake Jennings.

Jeannie Petaja, 61, joined the group to refresh her interest in painting landscapes. A graphic designer by trade, she started painting long ago.

“When I was a kid, I would copy watercolors from calendars,” she said. “I have stacks of paintings lying around my house.”

The paint-outs have prompted people to try new ideas and to learn new skills, Roberts said.

“One week, I was painting the opposite shore and a little girl in a pink dress showed up and stood at the edge,” Roberts said. “She was just such a bright spot of color and energy, I dashed her into my painting. After that, I started taking figure drawing classes so I could capture the human form better.”

Coming to the meet-up added a whole new set of locations for Jeff Remmer, 51.

“I live in Clairemont and work off Palomar Airport Road, so I see spots that are great coastal scenes every day,” Remmer said. “I take my kids to Bird Rock and I've painted there. But I wouldn't get to these East County spots that have very different light and colors except for the meet-ups.”

“And I wouldn't get to steal ideas and be inspired by their work if I didn't know these people,” he said.

The paint-outs usually end about noon.

“We've become friends from coming and we're always glad to see each other,” Lingren said. “There's a lot of kidding . . . and the camaraderie is as nice as painting outside.”